21.9 days old Moon
52.2 percent lit
November 20, 2016
Russia is racing to the Moon (click here)
Russia’s rocket and space corporation RKK Energia recently laid out its plan of crewed exploration of the Moon, which includes a flight to lunar orbit in 2030 and landing of the first Russian cosmonaut on the surface a year later.
RKK Energia CEO Vladimir Solntsev revealed on Nov. 15 that Russian flights to the Moon will enter the most crucial phase in 2026 when an uncrewed mission around Earth’s closest neighbor is planned. One year later, the company aims to launch a lunar lander to orbit the Moon. However, the biggest milestones are scheduled for 2029–2031.
“In 2029, there will be an unmanned flight of a new spacecraft to the Moon’s orbit. In the 2030s, we set the task of a manned flight to the Moon and in 2031 we plan landing on the Moon,” Solntsev said.
The new vision of lunar exploration by Russia may seem to accelerate the country’s space program, but it is simply a postponement of the date of future Moon landings envisioned in earlier statements. Last year, Solntsev made remarks about a possible crewed mission to the Moon in 2025 and with the first piloted lunar landing in 2029....
